Archive for the ‘TRAI’ Category

March 27, 2007: Broadcast regulator Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) is exploring the option of allowing voluntary implementation of conditional access system (CAS) in non-notified areas following the success achieved in notified areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

It has formed a 15-member consultative panel to explore various options for implementation of CAS in non-notified areas, a Trai official said.

MUMBAI: In pursuance of the Directions of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court on implementation of CAS, the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata by 31 December 2006 and Chennai (where it is already in implementation), Trai has taken a number of initiatives. As part of the process of implementation and to facilitate enhanced consumer awareness, Trai has placed on its website a compilation containing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on CAS and related Orders and Regulations of TRAI.

Interesting things are happening in Delhi regarding the Broadcast bill. Owners of media houses want to have a chat with the concerned Minister that is I and B minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi. But I and B secretary S K Arora gave them a tough message

July 12, 06: The Indian Media Group (IMG) on Tuesday met the I&B Ministry officials and raised several issues regarding the proposed Broadcast Bill. The I&B Secretary assured the Group that the Ministry would now formally consult the industry about the Bill and seek its feedback on the same.

IMG, which met after the Indian Broadcast Foundation (IBF) met the Ministry on July 11, contended that it had called on the Ministry separately as it had a different view on some issues.

“We are supportive of regulation unlike some foreign broadcasters, who may think otherwise. The foreign broadcasters have an option to stay in India or leave, but we, the Indian broadcasters, have no option but to abide by the government regulations and work under it. We believe that well-defined regulations will help the industry to grow,” said Subhash Chandra, President, IMG, while briefing media persons after the meeting.

“We have raised a few issues with the Ministry based on media reports. The Ministry said that as there were many versions of the Bill available in the media circles and as the media is confusing the Broadcast Bill with the Broadcast Code, hence, there would be a consultation process with the broadcast industry before the Bill goes to the Cabinet,” Chandra observed. The industry had previously contended that it was not consulted before drafting of the Bill.

On the proposed Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI), the Group demanded that it should be an autonomous body with independent persons in place, and not an extended arm of the government. The Bill empowers the government to appoint and sack the members at its discretion.

“As the Supreme Court guidelines say that airwaves are public property and should be governed by the public, not by the government, hence, the government should not have any control over BRAI,” Chandra held.

IMG objected to the stringent provisions like empowering the state government to seize equipment of broadcasters and other such strict penalty provisions. “If there has to be any such code of conduct, it should apply across the media, including print, radio and the Internet. Even we are open to the idea of bringing the broadcast industry under the Press Council of India Act, 1967 with certain amendments,” he said.

On the issue of cross-media ownership, IMG felt that there was no urgency of imposing cross-media ownership restrictions at present as there was no threat of monopolisation of content in a nascent media industry.

“Cross-media and inter-media restrictions cannot be duplicated from developed and more homogeneous countries for a pluralistic country like India. India is a different case with varied conditions. Instead of restricting market shares in Indian context, global ownership percentage of Indian media houses should be taken into account,” Chandra observed.

“As Indian media is at a developing stage, it requires huge capital investment and need to meet the technical and manpower requirements. Hence, the government should allow us to be significant enough in the global context before it imposes restrictions on us,” Chandra further said.

IMG also opposed the preferential treatment given to public broadcaster Prasar Bharati while carrying it on cable networks under the must-carry clause. It holds that as there are only 10 prime time frequencies available, carrying three Prasar Bharati channels in the prime band is not commercially viable.

“80 per cent of the revenue of channels comes through the advertisements during the prime time hours. As Prasar Bharati channels are also in a competitive mode during prime time, we have to fight with them. Hence, preferential treatment should be given to Prasar Bharati channels only if it is completely on public broadcasting mode,” Chandra maintained.

IMG represents the fully owned Indian media companies and was established in 2004. Senior officials from NDTV, TV18, Zee Telefilms, India TV, SAB, and Citi Cable were among those who attended the meeting.

10 July 2006: MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will ‘revisit’ the consultation paper on IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to examine the legal changes which might be required, Trai chairman Nripendra Misra said today.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Telecommunications (APT) and ICT Development Forum (ADF) in New Delhi, Misra told wire agency Press Trust of India (PTI) that Trai has sought the opinion of stakeholders on the legal changes which might be required, either in the Indian Telegraph Act or the Cable TV Act with respect to IPTV. This would in no way affect the scheduled rollout of IPTV, he said.

“Possibly the paper needs to be revisited regarding both access and content. We will be seeking the comments of cable associations, broadcasters, telecom service providers, ISP’s apart from NGO’s who are interested,” Misra said.

Earlier, addressing the Forum, Misra dubbed the Indian telecom sector as the “Poster Child” of development in India.

Misra’s comments on IPTV are significant in the light of the fact that in the absence of consensus from broadcasting and telecom industry, Trai was set to withdraw a consultation paper on IPTV it had issued some time back.

Prior to this, Trai had proposed making changes to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, plus the existing telecom licenses, so as to facilitate growth of IPTV services in the country.

5 July 2006 : NEW DELHI: Existing DTH player Dish TV has locked horns with Tata Sky over interoperability — or its waiver — of digital video recorders to be made available to consumers of a DTH service in India.

DTH license holder ASC Enterprises, which operates the Dish TV brand, has told the broadcast regulator that if digital video recorders (DVRs) are not interoperable, as mandated in DTH guidelines, it would “compromise” consumer interest.

On the other hand, Tata Sky and technology company NDS (controlled by Rupert Murdoch) have said that “interoperability is not feasible on high end devices” like DVRs.

“The technical specifications vary with the (DVR) models that are introduced and these were not envisaged when BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) drew up STB specifications,” Tata Sky has said in its submission to the regulator.

ASC Enterprises has counter-punched by saying that existing clauses on interoperability of boxes protect the “consumer interests by ensuring they switch over their service providers for the basic functionality of watching the broadcast channels as per their option and choice.”

If that was not enough, Tata Sky and residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) have come out in support of multi-dwelling unit (MDU) technology, which has been strongly opposed by all sections of the cable industry, including Cable Operators’ Federation of India (COFI), which feels cable ops stand to become redundant.

MDU technology, being tested by Tata Sky for its proposed DTH service in a few cities, envisages making available a DTH service to multiple homes through a common dish antenna, but separate set-top boxes.

The technology is being touted by its supporters as cost effective for consumers and as a safeguard for “aesthetic” senses in concrete jungles that Indian cities are turning into.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had asked for comments on various issues related to DTH, including whether certain clauses in the DTH guidelines need to be amended to exclude DVRs from being interoperable.

Fifteen individuals/organizations, including a clutch of RWAs, have submitted their feedback, baring the fact there isn’t consensus on matters like DVRs and MDU technology, which have the potential of changing the way people consume television fare in India.

Even a company like Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infocomm, whose DTH license application hasn’t been processed by the government, feels that DVRs should be kept interoperable.

“The clauses 7.1 & 7.2 of DTH license conditions need not be amended to exclude digital video recorders. All set top boxes whether simple STB or personal video recorder/ DVR-enabled set top boxes should be interoperable,” Reliance has stated

The full text of feedback, peppered with technical jargons and occasional innuendoes hitting at opponents, can be seen on the regulator’s website, www.trai.gov.in.